Broadcasting in the Blind

At an earlier point in life while on military duty in the Pacific, I recall monitoring an occasional and rare communication from an aircraft that would suddenly and tersely transmit: "Transmitting in the blind, transmitting in the blind, this is Air Force 101XX. We are declaring an emergency. Our position is (coordinates carefully stated)."

And then, again and again, I would hear those same words repeated in my headset by the pilot of an aircraft whose radio was not receiving; who had no idea if anyone could hear his emergency broadcast, and who was in imminent danger of ditching in a black ocean ... "Transmitting in the blind, transmitting in the blind...this is Air Force 101XX. We are declaring an emergency...our coordinates are..."

I still get goosebumps remembering those radio transmissions.

Most of all, though, I remember the raw courage those persons who found themselves "transmitting in the blind" had to summon.

Stay tuned.